The invention relates to an electrical connection device comprising a contact plug. The invention further relates to an electromagnetic valve comprising a temperature sensor and an electrical connection device of this kind. The invention further relates to the use of an electromagnetic valve of this kind.
Electromagnetic valves comprising a temperature sensor are known from the prior art and are used for example in pressurized gas containers in order to both detect the temperature of the medium in the pressurized gas container and to control the withdrawal of the medium from the pressurized gas container using the electromagnetic valve for example. By way of example, reference can be made in this connection to DE 10 2014 002 660 A1, which describes a structure of this kind.
In practice, it is now the case that the cabling and connection between the temperature sensor and the electromagnetic valve or the actuator coil thereof is relatively complex, and this makes the structure very complex in terms of the electrics when maintenance is required.
The object of the present invention is that of specifying an electrical connection device for an electromagnetic valve, and an electromagnetic valve, which prevents the disadvantages mentioned and allows for simple and reliable mounting.
In the case of the electrical connection device according to the invention for an electromagnetic valve comprising a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of a medium, the electrical contact plug is part of a housing which furthermore comprises an actuator coil for the valve and a plug contact for electrically contacting the temperature sensor when the housing is mounted on the valve. The electrical connection device therefore substantially consists of a housing which comprises a contact plug in order, for example, to ensure contact with an electrical connection line, in particular a wiring harness in the case of application in a vehicle. In this case, the contact plug allows for contacting that is very simple, and therefore less susceptible to faults, with regard to mounting. The electrical connection device itself directly comprises the actuator coil for the electromagnetic valve, and therefore the coil can also be mounted together with the housing and does not need to be mounted separately and connected. Moreover, the electrical connection device comprises a plug contact that is contacted by the temperature sensor when mounted. In this case, the temperature sensor is mounted for example as described in DE 10 2014 002 660 A1, mentioned at the outset. The sensor is accessible from the rear, from the side of the electromagnetic valve means remote from the pressurized medium, via a hole, when the valve means is used as a tank valve in a pressurized gas container. This makes mounting and electrical contacting extremely complex in the case of the conventional structures. The electrical connection device according to the invention allows the temperature sensor to be contacted very easily by the plug contact when the connection device is mounted, for example in that the plug contact is designed to extend through a hole, as far as the temperature sensor or the electrical terminals thereof. Simply placing on the electrical connection device, comprising the integrated coil, and the contacting of the electrical temperature sensor established when the connection device is placed on, makes it possible to connect all the necessary electrical terminals. This makes mounting extremely simple, efficient and fault-tolerant.
In this case, according to an advantageous development of the concept, the plug contact, as well as the coil, is connected to the contact plug, and therefore the further connection, for example connection to a wiring harness for actuating the electromagnetic valve and for evaluating the temperature data, can be achieved by this one contact plug.
The object according to the invention is also achieved by an electromagnetic valve comprising a temperature sensor and an electrical connection device of this kind according to the invention. In an advantageous development of the electromagnetic valve means according to the invention, the temperature sensor and/or the receptacle thereof in the valve has a marking for angularly precise mounting. A marking of this kind for angularly precise mounting of the temperature sensor makes it very easy to reliably mount the above-described electrical connection device according to the invention. The angularly precise alignment of the temperature sensor means that the electrical contacts of the sensor are also aligned in an angularly precise manner without it being necessary to use specifically designed contacts, such as annular contacts, here. Instead, sufficiently precise interaction with the mating contacts in the plug contact can be achieved by angularly precise mounting of the temperature sensor, with the result that the mounting and structure of the electrical connection device according to the invention is further simplified thereby.
It may also be possible for the electrical connection device to be connected to the valve by one releasable connection means. A connection means of this kind may in particular be a screw that is arranged axially and centrally in the region of the coil. After the electrical connection device has been plugged in, during which process the temperature sensor is contacted by the plug contact, the connection device can be secured on the valve by means of inserting a screw at the upper end, for example in the region of the electrical magnetic coil, in order to connect the connection device to a suitable mating element. The positioning of the electromagnetic coil in the required position and the electrical contacting of the temperature sensor can then be achieved by the one screw. The structure prepared in this way can then be further contacted by the contact plug in an extremely simple and efficient manner, the transmission of all necessary power and/or data being ensured in the contact plug by means of a sufficient number of terminals.
Furthermore, according to an advantageous development of the concept, in the electromagnetic valve according to the invention, the plug contact of the connection device and the temperature sensor may extend at an angle of 90° relative to one another. This allows the components to be contacted not so as to be flush with one another, but instead so as to be at an angle to one another, and, with regard to mounting, this can be achieved extremely simply and relatively reliably, even at high component tolerances, if the electrical contacts are sufficiently flexible and of a sufficient size.
The electromagnetic valve comprising a temperature sensor, and the possibility of mounting the valve extremely simply and efficiently using the electrical connection device, is suitable in particular for use in applications that require correspondingly large numbers of parts. The valve can therefore preferably be used in particular in the field of tank valves of pressurized gas containers, in particular when the pressurized gas containers are used for storing fuel in the form of compressed natural gas or compressed hydrogen in vehicles.
Further advantageous embodiments of the electrical connection device according to the invention and of the electromagnetic valve according to the invention are apparent from the rest of the dependent claims and are made clear with reference to the embodiment which is described in greater detail below with reference to the drawings.